Part Deux: Death of a Family
by DaCountOfMonteCristo
Summary: This is the sequel of my 1st story...I highly suggest you read that first. This story is the continuation of the Batfam's struggle after Talia but with even more surprise twist and turns. PM, Follow, Read and Review.
1. Chapter 1 - Rabbit in a Hat

Chapter 1 – Rabbit in a Hat

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~ PM, Review, Follow and Favorite … If you wish

_This is the sequel to my first story Definition of Family and I suggest you read that first before toy read this or it won't make since. As you know the story left of with Damian leaving a note on his bed after he snuck out of his room…But what does the note say?_

5 Words…5 Words…Who would've thought 5 simple words written in crayon could so drastically change his life along with the lives of everyone he knew. Tim's body froze as he continued to look at the paper in the destroyed room of a 13 year old boy.

As soon as his body stops trembling he slowly walks downstairs with the creak of each step taken becoming more and more muffled by the thousands of noises going on in his stomach and the millions of thoughts swarming in his brain. He finally reaches Dick who is standing with Alfred in the cave and they are staring at Tim whose face is as white as the paper clinched in his fist. Alfred sees this and speaks to him,

"Hello, Master Timothy…Eh- What is that you're holding onto so tightly."

Tim doesn't speak. Dick looks at him wiping the non-existent sweat from his brow and speaks.

"Tim…Is there something wrong?" Tim looks at him and _slowly_ opens his mouth to speak.

"Damian…He's gone…And…"

Dick is obviously concerned now at the mention of his grieving younger brother.

"He left a …_note_" Tim chokes heavily as he says the word note, the lump that you get when you're sad/nervous to let you know you're still human. Much to Tim's surprise, Dick is not surprised to hear of his irrational kid brother doing something irrational and childlike. Even with all of the assassin training Damian had, people tend to forget 2 major things about him.

Number one – He's never taken a life before…Something none of his brothers could attest to for themselves, although he was trained to do so.

Number two – Despite being thrust into an adult's world he is in fact still a child, and will act as such.

"Of course he ran away Tim, have you ever met Damian? You should've expected this." Tim says nothing but he slowly walks towards his brother, who is much more concerned than what he was letting on. He walks past Alfred and stands toe-to-toe with Dick, the obviously taller man 8 years his elder.

He doesn't say anything… He just hands Dick the note.

_Jason is…_

Dick drops the paper on the ground and his mouth is agape.

"Master Dick! What does the note say?"

Dick opens his mouth to speak, but realizes that he has nothing to say and instead hands Alfred the note. Alfred is trying very hard to find the right words.

"I never knew this." Dick looks at Tim.

"So, Tim you had no idea?!"

"No." Dick turns to Alfred.

"And You?!"

"I-I had no idea Master Dick." Dick's frustration gets the better of him and he throws everything off of the desk in front of him. Y'know, how you see in movies.

"And how is Damian the only person who knows this?

Tim scratches his nose, which is his weird quirk that means that he is nervous. He continues to look at the ground as he talks to Dick.

"Jason must have told them while they were away." Tim scratches his nose again.

"…But…That doesn't explain who _she_ is." Alfred looks at Tim rather confused.

"_She?..._Master Timothy." Dick responds to Alfred's query.

"Damian said that Jason's last words were…

"_Hey, Damian…Misses Jones apple pie was delicious, wasn't it?"_

"…But…The note says." Dick quickly responds.

"I know Alfred…I know what it says...That's why we have to go to Jason's apartment."

Tim and Dick hurry and get dressed in their respective costumes and rush over the massive array of vehicles in the BatCave.

"...But, why there Sir?" Dick starts his car, with Tim in the passenger seat. He pauses for a moment and looks at Alfred.

"_Because…That's were Damian is?"_


	2. Chapter 2 - Cheap Parlor Tricks

Chapter 2 -

~ PM, Review, Follow and Favorite … If you wish ~ Oh and before I forget.

Dear Batsson,

I'm glad your eye is so keen ... I was waiting for someone to mention all of the things you did and I thought I would be waiting longer...I did that with intent. The lie about Damian never killing and the fact that I never said what those 5 words on the note were ...You sir, deserve a cookie…Oh, and I noticed the depth thing as well. I'm still deciding the pace of the story I don't want to rush my grand idea and at the same time I don't want to waste time building momentum…Anyway, Thanks for the review!

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(Remember Jason's Last Words.)

_The story returns with Tim in the car with Dick. He's looking out of the red-tinted windows murmuring something to himself._

Those 5 words have been wracking his brain the whole night. They made no sense. It boggled his mind, along with his brother who hasn't said one word the trip to Jason's apartment…And much to their surprise, the street Jason lives on is blocked off by an onslaught of cops.

Tim and Dick…Actually Nightwing and Red Robin goes to talk to Commissioner Gordon who is standing in front of the apartment building door. Dick speaks to him first.

"Gordon…What is this?What are all of these cops doing at Jason's apartment building." Gordon laughs.

"Jason?" Says Gordon as Dick fumbles at his own slip of words as Tim slightly chuckles at his misfortune.

"I-I mean _ad-jacent _to this-"(He is cut off by James Gordon)

"I know what you meant, _Dick…_I just assumed you would is the 5th death this month we had where the victims are all killed by the same MO."

Gordon raises an eyebrow, rather shocked that neither of the two apprentices of Batman himself had no idea what was happening. Truth be told, they've been neglecting their patrol duties ever since the…_ordeal._

"There was a murder here…But don't worry Robin is already here investigating." So, Dick was right, this is where Damian went. Although, he probably had a different agenda in mind than investigating a murder.

Dick and Tim prepare to rush upstairs to Damian's location, when suddenly they are stopped by Commissioner Gordon, who seems to be puzzled by the ominous sheet of paper clenched in Tim's fist with something in crayon scribbled over it.

"Nightwing…Was is that?" Tim looks toward the street away from the man asking the question that's on everyone's mind. Nightwing hands the paper to him.

"…It's the reason why we're here." As Gordon reads the note, you can see his face becoming visibly confused. He turns to ask them what it means, but in classic Batman fashion they're already in the building and he is left downstairs with the confusing note in his hands. He hands it to his senior analyst in the squad.

"What do you make of this, Johnson?" Johnson confusingly surveys the sheet of paper.

"I don't know sir; I can't make out what it says." Gordon looks at the building and scratches his head before he responds.

"I'm not sure, but I think it says…"

"_JASON IS ALLERGIC TO APPLES."_

What does that mean sir? Gordon looks at the note, then back at the man who is as baffled by this as much as he is.

"I have no idea Johnson."

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_Dick and Tim finally reach the room across the hall from Jason's, where Damian is and he is staring at something in the closet. Dick and Tim ignore this, due to their excitement at seeing their baby brother._

"DAMIAN!" Both men yell at the top of their lungs at the sight of their overtly-focused little brother. He hears them, but doesn't move still fixated on the figure in the closet. Tim decides to speak to him first.

"I-I got your note, Damian!" Damian slowly turns his head from the body and stares at Tim. His eyes piercing the very contents of the expensive Domino mask on Tim's face all the way to the soul in the pit of his stomach. He slowly, almost deliberately like a prepared speaker doing a rehearsed speech, begins to talk.

"Tim…"

The very utterance of his own name makes his spine tingle furiously.

"How…Could Jason say that Misses Jones's pie was delicious, if he is allergic and hated the taste of apples?"

Tim says nothing. What could he possibly say to Damian at this moment? However, Damian keeps going with his speech.

"Try to keep up Drake, this means that the Jason we buried was-"(he is cut off by Dick)

"_**A Fraud?!"**_

Damian nods in the affirmative. Dick continues to speak.

"…Well…Whose body is this in the closet with their head completely wrapped in bandages?" Damian looks at him and smirks in his usual know-it-all fashion.

"Oh…So, the great _second coming_ of Batman hasn't figured it out yet?

Tim gasps loudly at the realization. He then puts his hand on Dick's shoulder and speaks.

"_Dick…its Misses Jones."_


	3. Chapter 3 - Solutions Without Answers

Chapter 3 – Solutions Without Answers

~ PM, Review, Follow and Favorite … If you wish you can tell me what you think will happen next, Hell you can kik me and snapchat me, I don't care go ahead it truly makes my day. Especially since, I am going to be leaving Chicago soon and I'm trying hard to crank out these chapters before that day arrives ~ Oh and before I forget.

Special shout out to you Brittany for your kind and thoughtful review. I read every review and take each one to heart…Thank you.

_The story resumes with Damian, Dick and Tim standing in the apartment room surveying the dead body of misses Jones. Tim speaks first._

"If we play our cards right, we can kill two birds with one stone." Damian, turns to look at his older brother with a look on his face of absolute disgust, among the many other _not-so-nice_ feelings that he always had for his older brother.

"I hate you Drake, you know how I feel about the endangerment of animals and here you are joking about killing harmless birds while we have much more pressing matters at hand!"

Tim scratches his nose ad Dick snickers loudly at the situation unfolding beyond him. He would've let this go on, but Damian was right-_sort of- _There were much more pressing matters at hand. So, he decides to nip this in the bud.

"…Uhhh, Damian that's a saying." Damian angrily turns to Dick.

"Well, he shouldn't _say_ it then Grayson!" Damian, rather abashedly walks to the other side of the room and begins to move things around. He gets embarrassed when anything occurs that shows how much of a kid he really is. Being completely aware of this, Dick and Tim get ready to respond but realizes that it would save much more time if they didn't. Instead they investigate the body. Damian starts this off.

"I took the liberty of scanning the room and-(cut off by Tim)

"And what did you find?" says Tim rather hurriedly. Damian gazes at him, a little shocked at how much Tim was getting on his nerves…Because, he was…More than usual even.

"Are you...Are you having fun Drake. Golly gee, I really hope you're having fun. You must be having fun. Why else would you insist on cutting me off if it weren't _fun for you…Drake?"_

Tim giggles and he regrets it immediately. Damian continues his quiet rant.

"Oh, So I'm funny…Funny how, Drake?...Am I funny like I'm a clown? Do, I amuse you?...Do, I make you laugh, Drake?

Tim pauses…He's very pale in the face, he almost seems scared at the ex-assassin's tone he used. And he continues to be before Dick can't hold it in anymore and he burst out laughing…Hysterically.

He wipes a tear of amusement from his eyes.

"I love you unconditionally for that Damian. I love that movie." Damian chuckles as Tim is utterly confused at this _brotherly moment _that Dick and Damian were having…In the middle of a crime scene…In front of a dead body…Across the hall from the room of their recently deceased brother. Damian is chuckling and talking to Dick at the same time.

"I love me too; I just saw it yesterday and _knew _how Drake would react to it." Dick and Damian are still laughing as Tim jumps in.

"GUYS!...Shouldn't we be…I don't know…INVESTIGATING this murder!" The room is silent for a moment before Dick responds."

"Awww, does wittle Tim want to play with us." Now Tim is furious.

"GUYS I'M SERIOUS!" Dick looks at him questioningly.

"Easy, little brother we're just bustin' your chops a little…We've all had a rough go of it as of late." Damian interjects with-

"…Anyway, I have a hunch to who the true villain really is."

Tim and Dick both looked at him shocked at what their brother is just now deciding to reveal. Tim speaks first.

"Well, would you like to share with the class?" Damian nods before looking at Tim, rather smug.

"Gladly." He picks up a piece of bandage and examines it.

"It's only a hunch, but don't you guys think this is a little…familiar.

"All of the victims were killed by one man. All of there bodies were left unharmed with the exception of their faces, which appear to be horribly mutilated and wrapped in bloody bandages...However, if you look at Misses Jones face it is much cleaner compared to that of the others. Almost as if it was done by an expert…And what do we know about the other victims?" Tim, answers him using the information Damian has left on the table that he gathered.

"Well…There names are John Krevetski, Elaine Bullard, Richard Kelly and James P. Henton." Damian nods and uses the projector mode on his phone to put a display up against the wall. Dick immediately has a question.

"…And what is this?" Damian paused it.

"Drake…Last year you went to a conference with father, correct?" Tim scratches his nose.

"Yes…But why is that important?"

"Do you recall the name of the beneficiaries who sponsored the meeting?"

"Yeah there names were John Krevetski, Elaine Bull-….Holy Shit. But there is one guy who never showed up and I never got his name…It wasn't on file.

"That's because the document you and father were given are fakes…The name of the man who was missing is-(Cut off by Dick)

"Elliot…Thomas Elliot." Damian walks to the body and stares at it for a while before he speaks.

"Doctor Thomas Elliot…The criminal known as-He is cut off as Tim sits down trembling by the door.

"…Hush." Dick is startled close to the point where is close to fainting. Tim quietly begins to speak.

"B-But that's impossible…How…Could it be Hush if I'm the one who."

Dick and Damian both turn away from Tim knowing very well what he was about to say.

"…_**Who killed him?"**_


	4. Chapter 4 - A Storm Coming

Chapter 4 – There's a Storm Coming, Mr. Wayne

_~ PM, Review, Follow and Favorite … My apologies for the hiatus. I just moved back to my school and had to get some things in order. Hey but I'm back now._

The room is silent. Not a single sound was heard or made for a while. The silence is overwhelming, to the point that it's loud and ear piercing. There was a lot of commotion going on outside though. However, even the loudness of the blaring police sirens and the large abundance of flies swarming the body that lay before them fell in comparison to the almost deadly silence in the room. The worst part though… The absolutely worst part is that they couldn't understand why. Even with the combination of Dick's amazing reconnaissance skills, Tim's otherworldly machine intelligence and Damian's prodigious detective brain. They knew Tim killed Hush, they all knew that. But they've never spoken about it, because…Well…They don't really know themselves. Damian opens his mouth to speak, but realizing that for maybe the 3rd time in his life it was necessary. He instead, delivers one of his trademark verbal ticks. However no one is really sure if he does this out of annoyance or that the silence was becoming unbearable even for him.

"…_TT."_ Although Dick and Tim heard Damian and knew very well that Damian does this whenever he is annoyed they actually turn to listen to what he is about to say, seeing how the noise lacked its usual scornful and overtly condescending tone…Damian takes a slight pause at this realization and continues to speak.

"Drake… What you did was necessary…D-Drake there is no point in sulking now we have much bigger problems at hand. ..I mean if it's any consolation if you did kill Dr. Elliot, as you can see you did a terrible job as evident by this corpse peacefully sleeping in the closet." He immediately regrets this statement. See… Damian isn't really good with the social norms and quirks of today's society. He was taught by his father that the best way to cope with a situation was to make a small joke, to lighten the air in the room…Which, he thought he did a pretty damn fine job in doing. So, it's safe to say he was utterly confused with his older brother's reaction…Even more so with Dick's. Tim talks first in an undeniable fit of rage.

"HOW CAN YOU BE MAKING JOKES AT A TIME LIKE THIS?!" Tim balls his fist up to punch Damian, but stops when he looks at Dick, to his surprise … And probably everyone else's was holding his sides in laughter at Damian's joke that in Tim's opinion was rather _tasteless._

"You guys are hilarious…I swear if Bruce was here he would be dying with laughter." Damian and Tim both look at him with rather cold eyes. Tim speaks first.

"T-That…That wasn't funny _Grayson. _"Almost immediately Damian chimes in as well.

"Yeah Dick…It wasn't." Dick quickly loses his grin.

"Well…Jason would've laughed." The shock of hearing there newly deceased brother's name reminds them that there are more pressing matters at hand. Dick starts off with acknowledging this.

"Guys…We have business to take care of…Obviously, Hush is alive and I think he's going to go after everyone who is involved with Wayne Enterprises…Those who are closest to him." Tim cuts in.

"…You mean me?" Dick nods in the affirmative.

"Don't worry. We can use this to our advantage." Damian can't stand it out it burst in with the question that's probably on everyone's mind right now.

"…Is Jason really alive?...I mean that couldn't of been Jason who fought my mother. There must be some explanation"

"_Holy Shit!" Tim freaks out with all of the sudden. He has come to some sort of realization._

"DAMIAN!...The Heretic was a clone of your right?"

" Of course, you know this already Drake?"

"Yeah…Yeah but do you remember what Talia said about the clone." Dick jumps in to answer the question.

"She said the clone was an exact replica, the only exception being that…"Damian, like his two brothers have realized the point that has been standing in front of them for all of this time. Damian quietly chimes in with.

"-It had no taste buds…"

" So, are you telling me that Jason is alive?! Dick pauses and looks at both of his brothers.

"…But I don't know for how long. Or if we can even help him. We have no idea were to find Hush?" Now Tim jumps in.

"We won't…It's impossible…Unless-"

"TT…Unless he finds us first. I have an idea but we're going to need Alfred's help. Dick is surprised by this.

"You don't mean we're going to-(gets cut off by Damian)"

"That's exactly what I mean…Go and put on your best Tux Grayson we have work to do."

_The chapter ends with a nod from both Tim and Dick as they run outside towards their vehicles…But, not without taking a last look at Jason's apartment door…Which had an usual look to it, one that they did not notice before. Regardless, they ignore it and rush home to Alfred quick to put their newfound plan in motion._


	5. Chapter 5 - The One Who Knocks

Chapter 5 – The One Who Knocks

_~ PM, Review, Follow and Favorite … I've been gone for a while. Obviously, but hey let's get back into it. I'm also gonna start doing my FMA fanfic or my Naruto , this one will be short. But don't worry I'll work to remedy that in the future._

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_Meanwhile in Gotham._

A man is walking down a highway… It's quiet with the exception of his loud footsteps until he reaches a large set of double doors. He forcefully pushes the doors open and is greeted by a large stage complete with creaky floorboards and worn out posters…Of what seems to be _circus performers._

The_ broad-shouldered _man climbs on stage and pulls aside the curtains that reveal a rusty steel door and through that door is an _even longer_ corridor that leads to one final door.

… The door is rusty and requires some force to open it and in the room…Is nothing really. Just a light bulb dangling helplessly from a thin rope. The man turns it on giving off nothing more than a dim light just bright enough to see that there is a lean, muscular figure bound by shackles in the back of the room. The broad-shouldered man slowly and deliberately walks over to the kneeling man and lifts him up by his hair.

"…Hello…Jason…" The shackled man slowly raises his head to spit, revealing himself to be the real Jason Todd. The man ignores the glob of spit and blood on his trench coat. He grabs stares at Jason and proceeds to ask…

"_Do you know who I am?" _Jason smirks at his question.

"_Is it really you Santa?!" _The man grins a little, then ferociously strikes Jason across the face which causes him to spit out blood before he talks.

"I…I Know who you are Thomas Elliot, and I know your plan…Regardless, it doesn't matter in the end." The man pauses for a moment and asks-

" _Why? "_

"_Because…I'm going to kill you. I'm going to kill you again. Then I'm going to get the dragon balls and wish you back…Then kill you again…Then I'm going to do a human transmutation and bring you back…Just to kill you again. Oh, and when that's over I'm going to dump your ashes into the Lazarus Pit…And you know what I'm going to do next…_

"Kill me again." Jason laughs. "I'm glad you get the idea.

"…And I was going to invite you to my birthday party for apple pie." Jason blows the hair out from in front of his face.

"_Sorry, I'm allergic." _

Hush scoffs at him and begins to walk away. But not before saying his goodbyes.

"For a dead man, you're awfully chipper…They aren't going to save you, don't be delusional. It's not healthy to go around lying to yourself."

"…_**You'll have plenty of time for that later."**_


End file.
